THE DYING DAY

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Session 27 -- Hat Creek
Oral presentation, Tuesday, 8:30-12:30, Dwinelle 155 Room

[27.02] THE DYING DAY

Carl Heiles (UC Berkeley)

The 85-foot telescope's dying day was part of a week of memorably unusual weather---which, in turn, was part of a memorable winter in California (and elsewhere!). On this day, it spent several hours finishing a months-long, apparently successful observation of Zeeman splitting of the 18-cm OH lines in absorption against the Galactic center continuum source Sgr A. Later, it continued a survey of weak diffuse radio recombination lines near the Galactic plane---observations that were interrupted by strong winds, which made the telescope move to the stow position. We know the rest. Had the telescope not been destroyed, it would have been reconfigured the following day to observe the 21-cm line. It would have continued an ongoing survey of interstellar magnetic fields using Zeeman splitting of the 21-cm line. It would have begun a search for broad, weak line wings, which had been previously discovered in association with supernova remnants. It would have been involved in a number of H~I mapping projects. And it would have continued its measurements of diffuse radio recombination lines. Had it not been for the inclement weather, the weekend would have seen it being used in laboratory exercises for undergraduates at UC Berkeley.

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